Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"W ould you do me the honor of dancing with me?" Nancy heard Richard's voice call behind her.

She had found her mother and sisters shortly after leaving Lord Whitwood, quickly starting up a conversation with them to keep her mind from wandering back to her husband and the mysterious woman he had been speaking to.

However, no matter how hard she had tried, she just could not get the picture of them out of her mind.

She couldn't deny how much she wanted to be his focus for once, for them to stop their dance of awkwardness and sincerely give their marriage a chance.

Nancy longed to go back to that night at his study, missing the sincerity in his voice as he had spoken to her, how intense his gaze had been when it had fixed on her as though there was nothing more important in the world to him right there and then except for her.

And just as panic had begun to overtake her senses, an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush against a sturdy chest.

She had been so stunned by the sudden appearance of her husband that she had missed his question completely.

"Nancy?" He raised an eyebrow in concern.

"I—yes?" She blinked, heat filling her cheeks rapidly.

"I asked if you would like to dance with me."

Her heart skipped a beat, and she smiled a little bit, replying shyly, "It would be my pleasure."

Richard nodded politely to her family, mumbling, "Pardon me," as he led her away from them and towards the dance floor.

She could feel multiple eyes on them as they stood in position and swallowed with difficulty, willing herself to ignore everyone else and focus on her husband before her. After all, she had wanted this all evening, and it would be a shame to let the attention of their guests ruin it.

Nothing mattered more than her and Richard at that moment.

They moved instinctively to the music, flowing together seamlessly to her relief because she felt so nervous—she feared she might trip and embarrass them both.

"I… I'd hoped to dance with you once before the night was over," she softly said to him in a burst of confidence.

Richard's eyes met hers briefly, and he muttered, "Well, we are dancing now."

His tone had a strange edge to it, but she ignored it, thinking that perhaps he hadn't known what to say in response to her words which had come out of the blue.

"Yes, but… it seemed your attention had been captured by another earlier. So, I thought… forget it," she mumbled, lowering her eyes in embarrassment.

"You thought what? What do you mean?" Richard frowned in confusion.

"The lady you were speaking with earlier. You were laughing, and I'd barely even seen you all night, yet there you were, flirting with someone else."

Nancy had hoped he would deny it, that he would put up a fight against that train of thought. Instead, he chuckled.

"Nancy," he whispered with a teasing smirk, "Are you jealous?"

She blushed and shook her head, gasping when he pulled her closer, their noses brushing slightly as he repeated the question with a soft and stern tone.

"Are you jealous, wife?"

"Y-You are being ridiculous," she managed to mumble.

"But you do not deny it," he pointed out, his eyes flicking down to her lips.

For a moment, she feared he would kiss her right there and then in front of their guests. And in the next moment, she realized that she hoped he would.

But she had quickly learned that nothing would work her way when her husband was involved because his expression lost its soft edges, and he leaned away from her.

"We are dancing now, so you needn't worry with whom I might have conversed anymore," he stated, his voice just as empty as it had been before.

Nancy felt her heart sink, and she raised her gaze to look at him, dismayed to find out that he was looking over her shoulder instead of at her.

Was it such a bad thing to be with her and give her some attention?

"M-My mother said she had gotten to thank you for your kind gesture. And I would like to do so again. You really did save my family," she earnestly told him.

Richard kept his gaze off her as he spoke, completely unaware of the loneliness blooming within her.

"I did what any responsible man would. Think nothing of it."

The dance ended, and he bowed low, barely sparing her a second glance before he walked away.

Nancy stood where she was, alone and confused, startled when a whisper reached her ears.

"I suppose the rumors were wrong."

"They look better together than I would've imagined."

"Perhaps their marriage has some legitimacy to it."

Oh , he did it for them , she realized.

Just like everything else he had been doing since she met him, this was just another stunt to appease the public and keep their prying eyes away from his affairs.

Stifling the urge to cry, Nancy took a moment to step away from the crowd and the noise, needing a moment to collect herself lest she fell apart.

* * *

Richard sighed with relief as his home regained the peace and quiet he valued within the castle walls, thankful that, at last, the long night had come to an end.

He had retired to his room shortly after the guests left, lingering long enough to watch Nancy say her goodbyes to her family, unable to stay by her side for a moment longer than he needed to.

"Do you need anything else, Your Grace? Shall I fetch your valet to ready you for bed?" Ernest asked.

With a groan, Richard waved him away, speaking up reluctantly due to his exhaustion. "I can manage without him. I'll be fine."

Ernest bowed and said, "Then I shall leave you to rest. Good night, Your Grace," before he took his leave.

The silence was almost deafening to the Duke when he had been left alone, and he welcomed it gladly, drained completely by all the pointless conversations and needless interactions he had to endure. He had put up with it all because of Nancy.

Now, his name belonged to them both as did his title. He could not risk the likelihood of anyone besmirching her name as they freely did with his.

He stared down at his hands, recalling how warm she felt beneath them while they danced. She had been utterly gorgeous up close, and it had been all he could do not to bury his face in the crook of her neck until he was dizzy with her soft floral scent. He had barely resisted the urge to kiss her again, their guests be damned.

Whenever he was around her, his self-control withered away to nothing, leaving him to struggle to keep himself together like a sinking boat in the middle of the ocean.

The Duke stood up and began to rid himself of the stuffy attire he had donned for the night, only managing to shrug off his jacket before a knock at his door took his attention away from the task at hand.

Feeling annoyed that someone had decided to interrupt what was meant to be a quiet, peaceful rest of the night, he marched to the door with a reproach already flying off his tongue.

"I thought I said I—oh. Nancy."

It wasn't a staff member who had come to speak with him.

It was his wife.

Nancy was still dressed in what she had worn to the ball as well. Still looking like a dream.

Richard cleared his throat, forcing his gaze to stay on her face—not like that was doing much to alleviate the growing pressure in his stomach.

"Did you need something—" he began to ask but her voice overtook him.

"I want to ask you a question, Richard," she said simply, her expression telling him there was likely more to this mysterious query.

He indulged her anyway. "All right. I am all ears, ask away."

Nancy inhaled, looking as though she was rethinking her decisions. But when he expected her to change her mind, she spoke up.

"Did I smell unpleasant earlier?"

That… was not what Richard had expected.

"I beg your pardon?" he queried back in confusion.

"Did I smell or look unpleasant at the ball earlier?" she asked in the same stern tone.

"No," Richard hedged, unconsciously stepping closer to her. "No, Nancy. That's—that's ridiculous. You looked beautiful. Very much so, in fact. You were… easily the most beautiful person in that room tonight."

He had said too much, perhaps. But he could not bring himself to care. Not when his wife harbored such unnecessary thoughts about herself.

He had hoped that this would placate her, but she looked even more upset, lifting her head higher as she brought forth another concern.

"If that is true, why did you avoid me all night?"

Richard stilled, caught completely off-guard.

He had hoped she wouldn't notice—which, now that he thought about it, was a very foolish hope. It did not surprise him that she knew because he had deliberately stayed out of her way the entire night.

Richard had crossed paths with many people he disliked purely by coincidence—at least thrice. However, he had been so attuned to Nancy's presence that he knew to turn right when she was approaching from the left.

"That is not true. There were a lot of people present tonight. It's normal that we couldn't cross paths as often as you might have liked. And I did seek you out later on. We danced."

"Once!" she snapped. "After which you let go of me and walked away as though you were at risk of catching the plague if you stayed close any longer. One dance means nothing if you refuse to look at me during and after it. Your cold and stiff attitude towards me is only feeding the rumors about the legitimacy of our marriage."

"Now you are purposefully being ridiculous. I am not the reason those gossip mongers wish to speak about our business. I told you, when we got married, to set aside all your expectations. I am sorry that you are finding it hard to leave behind your lofty ideals of marriage. I apologize for the fact that you were given no other choice than to marry someone who would not meet your standards. But I can't be the husband you want," he told her coldly.

"Can't or won't?" she challenged. "Because it seems that you are able to do anything and everything else—talk to any woman other than me as well—but meet me halfway, at least. Would it be so bad to just try and be more to each other than beneficial partners? All the time, I try to speak with you, but you continually keep me at arm's length."

"I never asked you to do any of that. Perhaps it would be better if you stopped assuming to understand what it is I need," he countered coldly.

"This marriage isn't just about you, Richard! I cannot claim to be the center of it because you barely even give me the time of day. And no matter how much you try to convince me, I am well aware of how lonely you are in truth. You want more than this, but for some reason, you would rather choke on your own tongue than admit it."

Nancy inhaled shakily, lowering her head slightly as she continued, this time in a quieter tone.

"Did that time in your study even mean anything to you? Or am I just another conquest for you to add to your collection?"

For some reason, that upset him the most. Richard knew his youth's rakish ways would haunt him and his marriage, but the thought of her viewing herself as any other woman he would have approached for a night of enjoyment and nothing more hurt.

"You are wrong. Nancy, I have never once thought of you that way," he told her calmly.

"So… why?" she asked, exasperated, seemingly losing her will to argue. "Why do you avoid me so much if that is the case? Would it be the worst thing… for us to be together?"

Richard rubbed a hand over his face as his frustration melted away, leaving nothing but cold disappointment in himself.

"I kept my distance because you drive me wild with want. Whenever I am around you, my self-control shatters, and I can barely keep my hands to myself. I fear that asking more of you—more than you have already given me—would be far too greedy."

Nancy was silent for a moment, and he thought he had managed to discourage her, causing conflicting feelings to well up within him. But rather than turn away from him once and for all, as he had expected, she took a step closer to him.

"What is wrong with being greedy with your own wife?"

Richard clung to the last dregs of his patience just long enough to reply ask in a low, quiet voice, "Because once I start, I will not be able to stop."

Nancy reached for his hand, her smaller fingers curling around his as she looked deep into his eyes, her heart beating loudly in her chest.

"What makes you think I would want you to stop?" she asked.

That was the last straw for him.

Without another word, he tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her into his room, slamming the door shut behind them.